RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Monday, January 31, 2011
Adam Tilt
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Sunday was our day of choice to take part in the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, and it also represented the first time that we have done so in the new house. This annual voluntary survey of the state of our garden birds continues to go from strength to strength and is a great excuse to watch the goings on in your own garden. I'm always worried that we will chose an hour when the garden is completely deserted but thankfully this year we hit the nail on the head, probably helped along by the freezing conditions driving birds to the feeders.

We watched from 12:30 to 13:30 and for the whole hour the garden was packed with most of our regular species as well as a couple of unusual extras. The previous weekend we had added a Niger seed feeder to our arsenal in the hope of attracting some Goldfinches which seemed to do the trick with a single bird turning up ten minutes from calling time. In all we recorded 17 species which I am very happy about, although we were missing Collared Dove and Bullfinch, both of which turned up an hour after we had finished of course. For me though the highlight was seeing behaviour in the garden that I have not witnessed before. For instance I now know that the Starlings are absolutely brilliant at hanging off our seed feeders, but for some reason the Chaffinches are less so. Talking of Chaffinches we had a female that appeared to be suffering from a parasitic infection known as bumble foot, and one that was lacking a leg completely. This is a condition that finches are particularly susceptible to but both of our birds seemed to be feeding and moving around perfectly well. Another interesting behaviour was the way in which both the Wren and House Sparrows are going under the metal sheeting that makes up my garage to look for insects. At one point we thought the Wren had actually made it all the way inside only for it to appear out of another location. It's all fine with me as it keeps the spiderwebs down on my mountain bike! Spring may also be in the air as we had pairs of Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock and Greenfinch present.

The final counts from our survey were as follows:

Robin (2)

Blackbird (2)

Blue Tit (5)

Chaffinch (7)

House Sparrow (7)

Jackdaw (5)

Starling (12)

Great Tit (2)

Dunnock (2)

Magpie (1)

Coal Tit (2)

Raven (1)

Greenfinch (2)

Goldfinch (1)

Wren (1)

Song Thrush (1)

Carrion Crow (1)

I popped into Sandy Water Park near Llanelli at the end of the day to look for the Bittern that we saw there late last year. I had no luck on that score but the Water Rail was still feeding in the ditch at the far end and had been joined by one male and two female Teal. I think that's probably the smallest area of water I have ever seen Teal in but I suppose needs must when open water is at a premium. There were good numbers of other waterfowl present including two Shoveller and numerous Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Pochard. Some of the Gadwall have now become so tame that they are feeding amongst the Mallards on bread thrown in by visitors. Two Little Grebe were feeding near the Sandpiper pub.

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A Gower Day - Three Cliffs, Pennard Pill and Rhossili

Sunday, January 30, 2011
Adam Tilt
14 Comments

Well what a weekend it has been. As I sit here going through my photos it is remarkable how after several years of exploring the Gower Peninsula it is still possible to find new species of wildlife, explore new places and experience a familiar location in a completely surreal state of affairs. As is often the case the main impetus for the step away from the usual was the opportunity to show some visitors why I love this place so much. On this occasion the guests in question were Emma's parents so on Saturday we headed for the beautiful Three Cliffs bay.

Although I have been to Three Cliffs before, I have always arrived via the coastline from Oxwich Bay. This time however we chose to start at Parkmill and walk alongside Pennard Pill, traveling through the heart of the valley that eventually opens up onto the sea. A Buzzard and a very noisy Jay were the first birds of the day but our attention was very quickly drawn to the river as I glimpsed two unfamiliar waders flying back upstream past us. The quivering wing beats had me assuming a Sandpiper but of which species I was not sure. I quickly retraced my steps until one of the birds was in view and to my glee it turned out to be a Green Sandpiper, a new species for me on Gower and indeed Wales as a whole. An added bonus was the Little Grebe that popped up practically at my feet whilst I was stood on the bank before quickly diving again. I had begun to think that they had all fled for warmer climates after the cold weather so it was good to finally find my first one of 2011. Further along the river a couple of Ringed Plovers were also feeding.

The beach at Three Cliffs was as picturesque as always and once again had subtlety changed shape since I was last there. Six Oystercatchers were feeding along the waters edge on the incoming tide but they were soon forced to move along in the face of the ever approaching water. Also on the move was a small flock of five Sanderling that seemed to appear out of nowhere and which landed briefly on the sand. I tried to approach closer but they were soon off again. Thinking that was that we started to walk back the way we had come and stumbled upon them once more on the opposite bank of the river. They seemed very well settled so I paddled into the middle of the water to get a better angle to photograph from.

I am very happy with the results as photographing a small white bird on a dark background in full sun was certainly proving rather challenging. The visit was finished off rather nicely by a pair of Merlin that flew across the valley towards us, landed briefly in a tree a few meters away before heading back over to the other side once again giving brilliant views in the process.

To finish off the day we headed to Rhossili for a walk along the beach. I should say at this point that although it was very sunny the temperature had still not risen above zero by mid afternoon. When combined with overnight freezing temperatures the conditions had made a remarkable impact on the scene before us. The beach often has water draining across it from the hills behind and Saturday was no exception. What was unusual however was that it had all completely frozen resulting in vast swathes of the beach being turned into sheets of ice.

I have never seen ice on a UK beach before so this was a completely alien experience as we slipped and slid our way along. I have several more pictures of the ice which I will share in another entry later this week. Also on the beach were a couple more Sanderling along with hundred of Gulls, consisting of predominantly Herring and Black Headed. The highlight though was a Red Kite that was hunting over the fields to the north of Rhossili village. I presume this bird is the same one that has been seen here on and off since Christmas but it was great to finally catch up with it myself.

I'll leave it there for now but I have plenty more to share throughout the week. Check back for more fantastic Rhossili ice, a Sea Cucumber, Sunday's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and a frozen walk up Cwm Dulais. Blimey, I think I need the next week at work as rest after cramming all that lot into a weekend!

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Just Ticking Over

Thursday, January 27, 2011
Adam Tilt
2 Comments

After the splurge of outings that characterised the first few weeks of this year, the past seven days have been relatively quiet. Saturday was spent out in the garden putting up some Christsmas presents including a bat box and several new bird feeders. A Raven spent much of the day noisily patrolling the area, having a few battles with the resident Crows and Jackdaws in the process. During the afternoon two Red Kites were circling overhead for an hour or so which is the first time that I have seen them back here since before the cold snap. I also heard a Green Woodpecker calling from somewhere up Gopa Hill but unfortunately didn't have the time to go and search it out.

On Sunday I was working a few hours overtime which did have the advantage of delivering three Redwings feeding on the grass next to one of the paths. The local Peregrine Falcon was also seen from the office yesterday around lunchtime and another Red Kite was low over the fields at Pontlliw on my way in this morning. Not a bad collection of birds considering the circumstances.

This weekemd should be back to normal with a trip to Rhossili planned for Saturday (providing the BBC Torchwood filmcrew have left), and on Sunday I shall be taking part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. I have high hopes that the new feeders will bring in the goodies for the hour that we will be recording, and weather permitting I am also going to try and photograph every species that we see. If you want more information on the event then click the picture on the left to be taken to the RSPB site.

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Mediterranean Gull White 3C78, Bracelet Bay, Gower

Thursday, January 20, 2011
Adam Tilt
8 Comments

Just before Christmas I found another ringed Mediterranean Gull (white 3C78) at Bracelet Bay on Gower. I duly sent my finding off to the relevant ringers and was amazed to find that this bird had originally been caught on the same day and in the same place as the last ringed Mediterrnean Gull I had found there (white 3P17). In contrast to that bird white 3C78 has been very heavily reported over the last eight years giving a superb overview of the migratory routes that these birds take. The full life history can be found below.

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About Me

Hello! I'm a thirty something blogger based in Wales with an avid interest in birds, nature, wildlife photography, walking, mountain climbing and kayaking. I love anything that involves the natural world and being outside, though rain and I just don't get along. We regularly find ourselves venturing to the Isle of Mull and harbour dreams to move there one day soon. This blog aims to share our adventures and, who knows, hopefully inspire a few people along the way.

About My Life Outside

Welcome to 'My Life Outside', the personal blog of Adam Tilt through which I aim to share with you the places that I visit and the wildlife that I see on my travels around the UK. My primary interest is in birds and bird photography, but when they aren't playing ball I turn my attention to pretty much everything else.

I am based in a village on the outskirts of Swansea, South Wales. My regular haunts include the Gower Peninsula, the Burry Inlet, Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Mull - all locations with stunning scenery and a vast array of wildlife. Many of the posts on this blog serve as a diary through which I detail my adventures and show the photographs that I have taken. I aim to impart some of my local knowledge along the way and encourage others to get out exploring for themselves. If you want to get involved then please leave comments and follow the blog.